


Paying Rent on Minimum Wage

by 20cassettes



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Awkward Conversations, M/M, Moving In Together, Oma Kokichi Needs a Hug, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Roommates, but dont worry its not there yet, eventual angst too, eventual bedsharing most likely definitely, eventually he will need a hug., i write a lot of dialogue hope u dont mind, probably homoerotic tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27280609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/20cassettes/pseuds/20cassettes
Summary: “...You probably have the wrong floor.”“Absolutely not. I rented apartment 53, second floor.”“ButIrented apartment 53, second floor.” The boy takes a long look up and down Shuichi. “Contract didn’t say anything about a roommate.”ーSaihara has finally found the apartment of his dreams, fortunately right within his budget. All too perfect to be true. And as it turns out, that's exactly the case.
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 120





	1. Saihara almost commits a murder

**Author's Note:**

> The plot of this fic is based on the J-Drama called Good Morning Call (There's a manga too, but I've only watched the TV adaptation on Netflix). I've been rewatching it, and thought, "Man. This really would fit for saiou." So now here I am. Don't worry, you don't have to have watched it to understand this. It's only the same premise, and the actual story will be pretty different.
> 
> First chapter is pretty short, but the next ones will be way way longer. Promise! I'm just setting everything up first. <3

“This is the last box, I think!”

“Thank you, Kaede,” Shuichi says with a stretch, arms up and spine popping. “I’m sure this would have taken me way longer if you guys didn’t offer to help me.”

Kaede drops the box on the wooden floor with a soft thud, dusting off her hands. “Aww, you know it’s no problem, Shu. Of course we’d wanna help out! Our li’l detective is all grown up and living on his own now!”

“It’s not… It’s not that big of a deal,” Shuichi mumbles sheepishly as Kaede squishes his cheeks.

“Of course it is!” Kaede clicks her tongue and gestures around them. “Especially with how nice of an apartment you’ve gotten. Two bedrooms!”

“She’s right bro, even your toilet feels fancy as hell,” Kaito booms from the hallway, slipping out of the bathroom and smacking a heavy slap on Shuichi’s back. “Geez, how much are you making with those cases? You working for the FBI now or something?”

Shuichi chuckles and kneels down to rip the tape off one of the boxes, busying himself with putting his items away. “This place is actually just 700 bucks a month. Landlord says I’m pretty lucky.”

 _“700?!”_ Kaede and Kaito yell in sync.

“Well, 750 actually, butー”

“Rent like that in the city seems unheard of,” Kaito interrupts.

Kaede furrows her brows and crosses her arms. “It _is_ unheard of. What’s the catch, then? Is this place haunted?”

 _“Haunted?”_ Kaito squeaks, already shivering and spinning around to look behind him.

With a sigh, Shuichi stands up, a couple bedsheets and towels in hand. “Calm down, it’s not haunted. I was told this place needed to be rented out immediately, so they dropped the price really low to get it done sooner. As far as I know… there’s no issue.”

“As far as you know.” Kaede narrows her eyes.

“It’ll be fine, Kaede,” Shuichi tries to pull his best reassuring smile. “I’ve made it this far already, right? I’m sure if anything happens, it won’t be something I can’t solve eventually.”

Kaede pulls a face, before sighing and resting her hands on Shuichi’s shoulders. “Okay, okay... fine. I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself. But call us anyway if you need something, ‘kay? Like if you need us to cook dinner, or… help with the laundry machineー”

“Kaede,” Shuichi laughs. For a moment, the thought of home-cooked meals for dinner without doing any of the work was admittedly an alluring one. But he’s got to prove to himself that he can live alone as a functioning adult in society (Which means he’ll stock up on cup noodles and tell the others that he’s definitely getting his daily nutrition). “You make it sound like I’ve never lived, period. I _promise_ , I’ll be fine. I’ll make sure to let you guys know if anything happens, alright?”

 _“I know!_ I’m just worried!” Kaede whines. Shuichi shakes his head and heads towards the closet in the hallway, still holding the bedsheets from the box. He takes a glance at the clock hanging on the wall.

“Shouldn’t you two start heading out? You both have work tonight, don’t you?”

“Shit, yeah!” Kaito snaps out of his fear and rushes to the door, slipping his shoes on. Kaede jumps, almost forgetting he was still there. “It was nice seeing your new place, dude. I’ll let Harumaki know to tag along next time we come visit, yeah? Make sure to get rid of the… the ghosts. Before we come back.”

Shuichi rolls his eyes. “Sure. Just for you.”

The front door swings open and Kaito leaves with a thumbs up, Kaede trailing behind him with an energetic wave and a couple goodbyes. Even once the door closes, he can hear the faint voice of Kaito rambling about spirits getting to Shuichi before they’ll ever see him again. But eventually the voices subside, leaving Shuichi alone in the new apartment. He runs a hand through his hair and walks back into the living area, before taking a long look around him. Boxes and belongings are covering most of the floor; definitely doesn’t give much walking space if he were to just leave them there for the time being. He groans and stretches once more. Might as well get all the unpacking over with early.

ー

It’s well late into the night by the time Shuichi finishes putting everything away. He quickly glimpses at the same wall clock. _Nearly midnight?_

“God, I need some water,” he mumbles as he drags himself to the kitchen. Normally he would opt for a cup of coffee, but he figures he shouldn’t have caffeine so late at night. He pulls a pitcher out of the fridge and grabs a glass, filling it all the way and immediately chugging it down. He sets the glass back down on the counter and lets out a satisfied hum.

 _First day has gone smoothly,_ he muses. He now officially lives alone. He closes his eyes; thinks of all the things he can do. Throw parties? ...He’s not really one for parties.

He’s about to grab the pitcher and put it back in the fridge, until he hears the quiet click of his front door lock.

 _Door lock?_ Was he seriously about to get robbed on his first night? He’d read about the low crime rate in this neighbourhood, though. Was… was Kaito right about the ghosts? _No way._ His neighbour must have just gone to the wrong door. 

Was what he told himself until he heard the door open.

 _“Ah shit,”_ Shuichi mutters under his breath, quickly grabbing the glass from the counter and scuttling to stand against the wall next to the hallway. He raises the glass up pathetically, hand shaking, physically preparing to strike and mentally preparing to go to jail for injuring a stranger. The stranger just broke into his apartment, sure, but this will look bad on his record if it goes south. How is he supposed to get hired for high-pay murder cases if he ends up being one?

He hears footsteps getting closer, which… don't really sound like they’re trying to be quiet at all. He grips the glass tighter (with way more shaking), his heart racing, before... 

Staring dumbfoundedly at a small boy that he clearly has a couple inches over. He’s face to face with a head full of purple hair. Said boy turns said head, going wide-eyed at the sight of Shuichi and jumping back a couple steps.

“Woah! Am I about to be killed in my own apartment?!”

 _“Your_ apartment?!” Shuichi lowers the glass. “You’re in _my_ apartment!”

The boy raises an eyebrow. “Uh, last time I checked, apartment number 53 belonged to me.” He pulls out a set of keys and jingles it in front of him.

“Whー” Shuichi huffs, before dashing to the dining table to grab his own keys. He runs back, showing it to the boy and pointing at the tag. “Apartment 53!”

“...You probably have the wrong floor.”

“Absolutely not. I rented apartment 53, second floor.”

“But _I_ rented apartment 53, second floor.” The boy takes a long look up and down Shuichi. “Contract didn’t say anything about a roommate.”

“Neither did… neither did mine.” He starts sweating. He wanted to go to bed. “Why are you even here so late anyway? This place was empty when I came this morning.”

He shrugs. “I’m a busy guy. And I don’t have much furniture, anyway.”

Shuichi brings a hand up to hold his forehead, letting out an irritated groan. “Okay. _Clearly_ one of us has the wrong apartment here. Can you… call your landlord or something?”

The boy scoffs. “Fine.”

He pulls out his phone, covered in a checker patterned case, and quickly sifts through his contacts. He presses one of them (appropriately written down as ‘Rent Guy’) and raises it to his ear, before immediately bringing it back down with a frown and looking at the screen. Shuichi can hear the unavailable message. He tries again, same thing.

“Uh, problem.”

Shuichi shakes his head and pats his pockets for his own phone. “Um. Okay. That’s fine. I’ll call mine.”

He does the same, pulling out his phone and searching through his contacts for his landlord, eventually finding the right one and giving a call. Although, he gets the same unavailable message.

“What the fuck? Are they ignoring us?” the boy taps his foot. He’s wearing pink socks.

Shuichi brings a hand to cover his mouth in thought. “The nearest real estate agency is open 24/7,” he mutters.

“You kidding? The one that’s like 20 minutes away? I can’t drive.”

“Then- then I’ll drive. Whatever. I want to get this cleared up quickly.” Shuichi grabs his keys again, already heading to the door. He looks over his shoulder. The boy watches him for a couple moments, then whines and reluctantly follows him out.

ー

“Well, by the looks of it, you two were given the same exact contract. A double contract scam, it seems,” the lady at the service desk tells them; _Shirogane_ , her name tag says.

“Okay, super great. Then who got the contract first?” The boy leans over the counter impatiently, almost like a little kid.

“Ahh… according to the files, Mr. Ouma Kokichi signed one first.”

 _“What?_ So you’re saying _I_ have to find another place? Shuichi asks, panic beginning to settle in the pit of his stomach.

Shirogane takes a sip from the thermos on her desk. Shuichi wishes he had coffee right now. “Not necessarily, no. Legally, the apartment simply belongs to whoever pays the 1400 dollar rent first,” she explains.

 _“What?!_ I only agreed to 750!” The boy says, _Ouma,_ as Shirogane told them.

“I- I also only agreed to 750…” Shuichi slumps. 

Shirogane stares back and forth between the two, then lets out a laugh. “An apartment like that for 750? Definitely not! That would just be plain bad business.”

  
  


Shuichi is back in his car with Ouma in the passenger seat.

“I can’t afford that,” Shuichi mumbles to nobody in particular, clammy hands gripping the steering wheel just a little tighter. “I mean, I could, but it would cut into my savings, and I’d—”

“I can’t. At all.” Ouma has his elbow leaning against the car window, staring out of it absentmindedly. Shuichi gives him a small side glance. “I’m really rich. I just have a spending limit.”

“Huh? Why…?” 

“That was a lie,” Ouma sighs. “I work minimum wage.”

“Oh.”

The two sit in silence for a minute.

“...Do you have anywhere else to go?” Shuichi asks.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll just go back to my mansion, no big deal,” Ouma says nonchalantly. Shuichi winces.

“Ahh, I meant… a relative’s place, or… sorry. That was stupid.” Shuichi lets out a long exhale, readjusting his hands on the wheel again. “Well I guess that… that kind of leaves us with only one option. Doesn’t it?”

Ouma doesn’t move, or say anything. Just keeps looking out the window. Shuichi takes it as an offer to continue.

“I’m, um. I’m Saihara Shuichi. I wasn’t really… expecting a roommate, but,” he pauses, “but it would make sense if we just split the bill for now, right? It would, uh, it would be cheaper than what we were going to pay in the first place. It doesn’t have to be for long! Just… just until we both find a new place to stay.”

Ouma finally turns around to look at him, and Shuichi is frankly too scared to see what expression he’s making. He keeps his eyes on the road.

“Saihara,” Ouma says quietly. He doesn’t say anything else for a while, and Shuichi assumes he’s thinking about the offer. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“But you can’t take it back. You brought up roommates first.”

“No! No, I would never,” Shuichi retorts. He would have shot Ouma a sincere glance if he wasn’t driving.

“We just met. What if I’m crazy? I set the kitchen on fire or something?”

“It would- It would make for interesting memories in that apartment, I guess! Although I’d probably prefer if you, um, didn’t. Set anything on fire, that is.”

Shuichi can see Ouma in his peripheral vision, looking at him again. He bumps up the A/C just a little, to help the sweating. Ouma leans backs a little bit in his seat, then he starts laughing. A light laugh, but a laugh that makes Shuichi suddenly feel like he might have said something dumb.

  


“Okay, Saihara. I’ll hold that against you.”


	2. Cheers

The first couple days seem to pass by without a hitch.

Ouma wasn’t lying about not having that many belongings to move in. At this point, most of the items in the apartment are Shuichi’s, now shared between the both of them. One of the only things Shuichi can think of off the top of his head that originally belongs to Ouma, is the little set of teacups in one of the cupboards. And the tiny clown statue sitting on top of the bookshelves, but Shuichi likes to forget about that one. Nevertheless, having to share all his stuff really doesn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. He only wonders why Ouma has so little in the first place, though.

Whenever the two of them are home at the same time, one of them is always locked away in their bedroom. Those times are rare, though. Shuichi has noticed that Ouma always seems to be working evening or night shifts, while he’s always at the office in the daytime. 

But there are some moments. Sometimes, Shuichi will catch Ouma eating breakfast at the same time as when he wakes up. Like today.

Shuichi steps out of his room while letting out a yawn. He makes his way to the kitchen, immediately beelining for the coffee machine and starting a roast.

“Saihara, morning,” Ouma says from the table, tending to a bowl of milk and cereal. Some sugary brand.

Shuichi looks at Ouma. Looks behind him, then back at Ouma.

_He’s talking to me?_ They’ve never exchanged so much as a nod whenever they see each other.

“Good morning... Ouma.”

“Do you have work today?”

Shuichi hesitantly shakes his head. “Today’s my day off.”

“I see. Me too.”

Shuichi pours the coffee into a mug, doesn’t add anything and brings it to the table. He takes a mental note that both of them are off on Thursdays.

Ouma watches as he sits down across from him, taking a spoonful of cereal. “Speaking of. Where do you work anyway?” he asks.

“I, um, I’m a detective working for my uncle’s agency.”

The other boy’s eyes light up for a moment. Then they immediately die out, and he slowly puts his spoon down.

“A detective.”

Shuichi nods.

“Yet you fell for a shady apartment rental scam?” He has the audacity to smirk.

“I had– I had a lot of things to focus on,” Shuichi mumbles, fiddling with the handle of his coffee mug. “Things that needed more of my attention, and I, ah, just assumed that the apartment would… well. But if you thought it was shady, then why did _you_ accept it?”

Ouma snickers. It reminds Shuichi vaguely of a horse. “I’ll take what I can get.”

Shuichi frowns, and takes a sip of coffee. It hasn’t even been a week, and now Ouma’s biggest impression of him is that he sucks at his best trade. But he’ll brush aside his pride for now.

“Okay. Well. What about you?”

“What about me?” Ouma picks his spoon back up and shovels another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

“Where do _you_ work?”

He swallows his mouthful rather abruptly. “I’m a waiter at this really fancy cafe. Has celebrities coming in and out all the time.”

That doesn’t line up. Shuichi cocks an eyebrow. “I thought you said you work minimum wage? What’s the name of the caf—”

“Oh! By the way,” Ouma quickly pulls his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it. He slides it across the table, perfectly stopping right in front of Shuichi. “I figured it would be a good idea if we had each other’s numbers. Right? Punch in your digits for me.”

Shuichi looks down at the phone for a couple moments. He lost his train of thought. “Oh. Yeah, right. Sure.” He puts down his coffee, picks up the phone, and puts in a new contact. Just writes his name down as _Saihara_. When he finishes, he gently places the phone back on the table in front of Ouma.

“Sweet. I’ll text you later, save my number then.” Ouma takes his phone back and puts it away.

Just then, loud music begins playing from the hallway. It’s an old song from one of Shuichi’s favourite emo punk rock bands, and that’s what suddenly makes him realize that the music is coming from his room. He freezes momentarily, then scrambles to stand up from his chair and start making his way to his room.

“Sorry, that’s- that’s my phone. I’ll be right back. Sorry,” he frantically apologizes to Ouma (who seems to be getting a kick out of watching him. Shuichi pretends not to notice to prevent himself from feeling even more embarrassed). He quickly bursts his door open after almost slipping on his way there, and picks up the phone currently ringing on his bed.

“Hi? Hello?” Saihara answers, trying to not sound out of breath. Maybe he should start going to the gym with Kaito and Maki again.

“Shuichi!” Kaede’s cheery voice. “You sound a little tired. Sorry if my call woke you up.”

“No, it’s—” Shuichi cringes. “Don’t worry about it.”

He hears Kaede laugh on the other end. “Anyways, I know you have Thursdays off, right? Would you be up for drinks today with the others?”

It’s been a while since Shuichi’s gone out somewhere with them. The case he’d been focusing on at work had been taking up all of his free time, but it was finally closed the other day. He smiles.

“Yeah, sure. I’d love to.”

“Aw great! Let’s all meet at the usual spot at 7. Sound good?”

Shuichi quickly checks the time on his phone. It’s still 11 in the morning. “Sounds good.”

Kaede says she looks forward to it, Shuichi shares the sentiment, and they eventually say their goodbyes. He puts his phone in his pocket and awkwardly returns to his spot at the dining table.

“Sorry,” he says again. “That was my friend. She’s inviting me out somewhere.”

Ouma looks up from his cereal. The bowl’s almost empty. “No worries.”

Shuichi shuffles in his seat, picks up his mug and just watches the coffee swirl around for a moment. He tries to think of something to talk about, but Ouma suddenly cuts off his thoughts with a loud clink of his spoon hitting his bowl. 

He stands up, bowl in hand, and makes his way to the sink. He doesn’t wash it, just leaves it there and starts heading back to his room. “Well, nice talking to you, Saihara!” He grins and throws a wave over his shoulder, before closing the bedroom door behind him. Leaving Shuichi alone at the table.

“Um, nice talking to you, too...” he mumbles to an empty room.

ー

Shuichi has a habit of arriving at places early. He argues it’s better than arriving late, but it always means he’s the first one there.

Sighing, he takes a seat at one of the booths in the group’s favourite pub. He checks the time on his phone, 6:50. Got about 10 minutes until the other 3 start arriving. He has nothing better to do until then, so he scrolls through his phone to kill time.

He’s watching some unimportant video when his phone sets off a little _ding._ There’s a new notification. And then it dings again. And again.

Unknown Number: saaaaaaaaaaihara!!!!  
Unknown Number: is this u??  
Unknown Number: unless u pranked me with the wrong number…… >:(

Shuichi lets out a little laugh. He saves the number.

Me: yeah its me  
Me: im assuming this is ouma?  
Ouma: I don’t know who “Ouma” is. This is your lawyer, messaging you in regards to the lawsuit filed against you.  
Ouma: nah i’m kidding ya it’s ouma

_“Shu!”_

Shuichi nearly jumps out of his seat. Kaede takes the spot next to him.

“Geez, what’s got you smiling so hard at your phone?”

“Huh?” His face goes a little red. “A-ahh, nothing, it’s my—”

He stops himself.

He shouldn’t tell anyone about his roommate, should he. He promised them that he knew what he was doing. If they found out he fell for some rental fraud and ended up living with some random guy, they would never stop berating him for being so careless. To be frank with himself, he’s too ashamed to let them find out he fell for something like that. 

“It’s your…?” Kaede gives him a little nudge with her elbow.

“My… my friend. I don’t think you guys have met him.”

Kaede raises an eyebrow, but Shuichi is saved by the bell when Kaito and Maki arrive and take their seats across the table.

“Yo, Shuichi! Glad you could come today,” Kaito shoots him a big grin. Maki nods next to him.

Shuichi shoves his phone away in his jacket pocket; he’ll reply later. “Of- of course! I’ve missed the last couple drink sessions, anyway. I’ve still been a little busy, but I wanted to make it to this one, at least.”

“I can imagine,” Maki chimes in. “Sorry I couldn’t come help with your move-in, Shuichi.”

He politely waves it off. “It’s okay! We’ve all got jobs. I get it.”

Maki nods again, then signals the waiter over. The four of them order a couple rounds of drinks, then return to conversation once the waiter leaves.

“If only you saw it, Maki! His apartment is so nice!” Kaede starts boasting for him excitedly. “I’m honestly a little jealous he has all that to himself.”

_Yeah, right. To himself._

“How have your first couple nights been, Shu?”

He shifts in his seat a little. “They’ve been okay. I haven’t been home much to really get a feel for it yet,” he answers honestly.

Maki hums. “What’d you turn that extra bedroom into? I heard you’ve got two.”

“Um,” he gulps, “it’s– it’s still empty. I was thinking of… turning it into an office. But it’s got an ensuite bathroom, and I’d feel bad if that ends up never being used.”

“Hey!” Kaito pipes up. “Why don’t we all drop by Shuichi’s place for a little bit after this? That way Harumaki can—”

_“No!”_

The three stop and look at Shuichi, a little wide-eyed.

“I mean, I… uh.” Shuichi panics for a second, fidgets with his sleeve. Ouma said he has no work today. If they came to visit now, they’d definitely end up running into him. “Um, I’ve still been unpacking things, and… my place is still kind of... messy. I don’t want you guys seeing it like that. You know. Just so it doesn’t get any messier than it already is.”

God, Shuichi hates lying. The only messy part of his apartment is the situation he’s putting himself in right now.

“Aw c’mon, bro! You know we won’t care about a little mess— ow!”

Shuichi assumes Maki elbowed Kaito in the rib. “That’s alright, Shuichi. If you don’t want us over yet, we’ll respect that.”

He gives her a grateful look right as the waiter comes back. Kaede hands the drinks to each of them.

Thankfully, no one dwells on Shuichi’s sudden outburst. Everything continues normally, and goes on late into the night. At some point, the other three have moved to the topic of a show that Shuichi’s never watched before. They’re all a little tipsy from the drinks they’ve had, so none of them notice Shuichi’s lack of participation in the conversation. He sits idly, staring at the ice in his glass.

_Ah, that’s right. Ouma messaged me earlier._

He pulls out his phone to be greeted with a couple more notifications from Ouma than when he last checked.

Ouma: do u happen to have extra laundry detergent somewhere?  
Ouma: the jug u brought only has enough left for one load  
Ouma: and i wear a lot of clothes :P

The messages are recent, only about 20 minutes ago. 

Me: oh no i dont think so  
Me: i can drop by the convenience store on my way home and buy some  
Me: if you still need it

Shuichi puts his phone down, not expecting Ouma to reply right away. But he does. His phone dings as soon as he turns it off.

Ouma: i do!!!  
Ouma: if ur going to the store……… could u buy some food  
Ouma: i haven’t had dinner yet  
Ouma: and i dunno what to do with any of this stuff u have in the fridge  
Me: sure. you like pork buns?  
Ouma: :D

Shuichi smiles at his phone again. Ouma seems a lot more talkative when it’s through text.

The two of them end up texting each other for a lot longer than Shuichi expected to.

“Alright. Who’s this friend of yours?” Kaede rests an elbow on the table, tilts her head at Shuichi. The question has him look up from his phone and realize that he’d been stupidly smiling to himself again.

“Huh? He’s…” Shuichi’s eyes flicker momentarily to Kaito and Maki, who are off bickering about something between themselves. “His name is Ouma. I could, um… introduce you to him sometime.”

_Because I’ll eventually have to,_ he doesn’t say out loud.

“I’d love that!” Kaede gives him an odd smirk. “Maybe you could invite him to our next drink session, hmm?”

Invite him? Shuichi’s first instinct was to shut down the idea and make sure they never meet. But then he thinks about it a little more. If his friends were to find out he actually has a roommate, it would be a lot easier to tell them about it if they were already friends with Ouma. Right?

“I… yeah. Guess I could. I’ll ask him about it next time.” 

“Great! I’m already excited,” Kaede gives him a light punch on the arm. Shuichi opens his mouth to reply when Maki clears her throat.

“Alright. I think now’s a good time for Momota and I to take our leave, before this idiot gets any more drunk,” she says. “It was nice seeing you two.”

Kaede and Shuichi give their goodbyes, Kaito and Maki pay their share of the bill, and soon it’s only two left.

Kaede stands up and stretches her arms. “That was a good time! Thanks again for coming, Shuichi.”

“It’s no problem,” Shuichi smiles and gets up as well.

Kaede’s smile on the other hand, suddenly drops. She rests a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder. “Seriously. Let me know if you’ve got any issues. Or anything on your mind. Yeah? I know you’ve been a busy bee these days.”

He nods his head, gives her the best sincere look he can make without being sincere. “Of course.”

—

“I’m home,” Shuichi calls out into the apartment. He slips off his shoes and walks into the dark kitchen, plastic bag crinkling in his hand. He can see the glow of light coming from Ouma’s half-open bedroom door. “I brought food.”

Ouma shuffles out of his room quickly, already grabbing the bag out of Shuichi’s hand and rummaging through it before he can blink. He turns the kitchen light on. “Welcome back!”

“The store ran out of pork buns, sorry. I know that’s what I promised.” Shuichi opens the fridge and pulls out the water pitcher. “I hope you’re okay with rice balls.”

“Aw man, I was looking forward to the buns.” Shuichi shoots Ouma an apologetic look, and he snickers. “Just kidding. Rice balls are good.”

Shuichi lets out a sigh of relief. He carries the pitcher over to the table, where Ouma is sitting, along with a glass.

“Are you hungry?”

“I’m okay, I—” Ah. Wait a second. Now that he thinks about it, he was too busy messaging Ouma to even think about ordering any food from the pub. “Actually, yeah.”

Ouma doesn’t question it. He pulls out another rice ball from the bag and tosses it. Shuichi catches it (he almost didn’t), and takes a seat at the table. Same place as this morning.

“How was your day out?” Ouma asks through a mouthful of food.

“It was nice. My friends took me out to drink. Ah… speaking of,” Shuichi pours himself some water, “they told me to ask you if you’d like to join us next time. Since we... have the same day off, and all.”

“Hmm,” he swallows, “I guess I don’t really have anything better to do. They already know you’ve got a roommate?”

Shuichi starts sweating again. “Uhh… actually. I was hoping you could, err, keep that part a secret from them for now.”

Ouma goes silent. Shuichi gets ready to start apologizing, but Ouma starts laughing. The same laugh that makes Shuichi feel like he said something dumb again.

“Then what did you tell them?”

“I said you were a friend…” Shuichi goes red with embarrassment. He takes a bite of his own food. “They’re gonna kill me if I tell them I accidentally ended up with a roommate.”

“Okay. And you’re inviting me to meet them? I could make a total fool out of you, you know?” he smirks.

“I mean, I… I trust you enough not to.”

Ouma goes silent again. He’s still smiling, but it’s now visibly one twitch away from becoming a frown. “You trust me, huh.”

Shuichi swallows his food nervously. He grabs his glass of water and takes a big gulp. “Sorry, it’s okay if you don’t wanna come. I’ll just—”

“I’ll go.”

He blinks. “Huh?”

“I never said I wasn’t going to,” Ouma says before taking another bite. He looks at the plastic bag, then around the kitchen. “Did you buy the laundry soap?”

“Ahh! I forgot!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said this one would be a lot longer (in my defense it's still longer), but I decided what comes up next would be better fit for the next chapter. Hope you guys don't mind!


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